Lower control arm rust - how could the dealer miss this.

Last week Thursday I took my car into the dealer to have the idle fixed and have recall work completed. Specifically, one recall was to in regards to the lower control arms rusting. The dealer supposedly checked the control arms and told us they were "fine" and did not need replacing.

Well, this weekend I started working on changing the clutch. I was in process of removing the axles when I noticed the drivers side control arm has a rust hole in the top of it just above the ball joint. The hole is about 1/2 inch wide by 2 inches tall. The area around the hole is paper thin, and when tapped with a metalic object, doesn't make a metallic sound. It sounds as though it is made of cardboard.

I don't understand how the dealer could have missed this if they really looked at the control arms. The rust definatly has perforated the top of the control arm, which is specifically pointed out in the recall notice.

Needless to say, I will be calling the dealer today to have them replace the control arms. I will let them know that this is a recall issue and I should not be paying for any of the work. Also, with a hole like that, I don't really feel safe driving the car the 30minutes at highway speeds to reach the dealer. From what I've seen on other posts and other forums, it is typical for hyundai to foot the bill for a tow.

The scary part is, if I had not been changing the clutch and working on the car, I would probably have never noticed that the control arm had rusted through. At least not for a while. I feel lucky that I cought it. I just wonder how many other people have taken their car in for this recall and the dealer told them it was OK when it really wasn't.

---------- Post added 11-02-2010 at 12:36 PM ----------

Here is a picture of the rust hole in the control arm. As you can see, it is hard to miss.

Re: Lower control arm rust - how could the dealer miss this.

I have an appointment to get my can in next Tuesday. I'm in the middle of a clutch change right now, and this gives me time to finish befeore I need to get the car in.

I spoke with the dealer's service department on the phone when I got home from work yesterday. They told me that they will have to look at it again, and if it is indeed the recall issue then they will repair it at no charge. All they could tell me over the phone is that they will have to look at it to determine if it is the recall issue. Although, I think it is pretty obvious that it is. I tried to be polite to the person I spoke with on the phone, but I did make sure to give them the name of the mechanic that performed the work on my car.

It sounds like it is going to be taken care of. I'll let you guys know how it ends up working out.

Re: Lower control arm rust - how could the dealer miss this.

I am having the exact same problem except my drivers side arm snapped while driving. And the other one is showing a hole. Huyndai is telling me that my 2002 isnt part of the recall even though it came from Maryland one of the recall states. I was lucky I was only going about 35mph and no one was behind me. The wheel locked up and I almost hit a wall due to lack of steering. I was planning on buying a second huyndai but now that I know they gamble with peoples lives never ever again.

Re: Lower control arm rust - how could the dealer miss this.

An update on the situation. We took the car in on Monday evening for a Tuesday morning appointment. We brought the picture with us as well as a print of the recall notice and our detailed receipt from our last visit. When we dropped it off, it just happened that we had to check in with the mechanic responsible for our car the lat time. We explained to him that we had it in last time for the recall issue with the control arms and that I had the front wheels off of the car and noticed the rust hole. I showed him the picture and he could see that it was an obvious hole. Instead of getting rude or defensive, he explained to us the hyundai process for inspecting the control arms and subframes and how it could be missed.

He said that the instructions they have from hyundai tell them to inspect the control arms without removing the wheels from below. He said there are specific ponts that are supposed to be checked. However, the instructions don't tell the mechanics to inspect the top side of the control arms or subframe at all. He took the time to show us on a car that was up on a lift at the time, as well as on a junked subframe that they had in the back of the shop. After he took the time to explain everything, he said they would go ahead and remove the wheels from the car and thoroughly inspect both control arms and the subframe, top and bottom. He said they would replace anything that needed to be replaced as well as align the front end and we wouldn't be charged.

I got a call around 3:45 in the afternoon on Tuesday saying that the car was ready. He let me know that they ended up replacing bolt the front control arms. He also said the subframe was fine. After work, we picked up the car for a grand total of $0.00.

Overall, I'm happy with the way it turned out. It sounds like the dealer did everything they were supposed to do on their end. It sound like the process specified by Hyundai to check the control arms and subframe is flawed and can let something like this get through. Based on the service provided to get this fixed, I've regained respect for this dealer and would deal with them again in the future. Best of all, we have are car back and it is safe to drive.

The fact that the inspection process is flawed does worry me. How many other hyundai owners are out driving around on damaged parts because the part appeared good from below? I'm sure I can't be the first person to have this happen. I would urge everyone that is effected by this recall to take the tires off and look for yourself. Go ahead and tap them with a hammer to see if it sounds right. If the metal is thinned and rusted out, it will sound different. I'm sure as carbreakage and many others can attest to, having a control arm break is not a good thing to have happen while driving.

Re: Lower control arm rust - how could the dealer miss this.

I had them take a look at mine to see if they needed to be replaced, and they said that they were fine. I'm going to take my wheels off tonight to check that out.

Glad everything went well, and good looking out!

If I hadn't been changing the clutch on the the car, I proabably would not have noticed either. The dealer said they were fine also when I went in the first time. I'm sure glad that I found it. It could have been bad if I hadn't.